The Epochal Integration is a hand cannon first seen in the marketing for Destiny 2: Lightfall. It was prominent in the posters and trailers for the expansion. There was a lot of hype for it due to its unique look. But for whatever reason, it was delayed to Season 21. We’re guessing it had something to do with time constraints. We’re not sure. Well, the gun’s here now. Let’s see what we’re dealing with.
The weapon in question is a Solar 140 RPM hand cannon with very high stability. It is so stable that when Eye of the Storm is active, you get the sense that your shots don’t miss the mark. When you’re in the middle of a duel, this gun feels like a 180-hand cannon, if 180s had any range to them.
How to Get the Epochal Integration Hand Cannon
The Epochal Integration Hand Cannon can be obtained as a reward by completing the quest called “Parting the Veil”, and to start the quest, you’ll want to pay Nimbus a visit, provided you have completed the Unfinished Business exotic quest.
Complete all six steps of the quests, and you will be rewarded with the Epochal Integration hand cannon. Additionally, this is also the quest that unlocks an additional fragment for each class.
Destiny 2 Epochal Integration Breakdown
The reward for finishing the quest is a static roll. You can think of it as a ritual weapon, but we’re getting it early as Lightfall owners. We also think that the developers wanted to make up for not having the gun out when Lightfall launched. We don’t know if the gun will ever get random rolls.
Epochal Integration as a PvP Weapon in Destiny 2
This is a very good dueling weapon in its intended range. We emphasized its range because, on paper, it outranges many other 140s. But the reality is that many other dueling hand cannons come with Opening Shot and Rangefinder. And that makes all the difference. From our experience, unless you’re the one who hits the first shot, the duel will most likely be a toss-up. Even when you have the Eye of the Storm on your side.
Sure, Keep Away helps, but Rangefinder gives you that edge in zoom value, and Opening Shot provides +25 on the first shot as compared to the +10 Keep Away provides. Realistically, we don’t see this weapon becoming a meta-pick right now. That opinion might change over the coming weeks. For now, it’s a novelty. A cool-looking one.
Epochal Integration as a PvE Weapon in Destiny 2
When it comes to PvE, Epochal Integration is in a weird spot. And it’s because of the Incandescent perk. It takes quite a combination of perks to make a hand cannon “fun” in PvE. Sure, we’ve got Sunshot and Firefly, but those exotics take mobs down pretty quickly. A dueling hand cannon is a less-than-optimal choice for PvE.
It all boils down to how much you love Incandescent. Some players like to see explosions, while others love spreading Scorch. Stats For All is a nice complimentary perk, but reloading is what’s going to slow things down for you. Keep Away with Incandescent is a nice pairing. This is probably the best combination for crowd control. It’s not brutally effective, but it’ll do.
That’s everything we have on the Epochal Integration hand cannon. We really want to see this gun thrive in both PvP and PvE. (Because it looks every bit as impressive as the marketing.) But only time can tell if the community is willing to give this one a chance.
We’ll certainly be one of those odd players who will come into a Crucible match every once in a while. And with Lucky Pants equipped for good measure, Anyway, good luck and have fun out there, Guardians!
Destiny 2 Season of the Deep is out now on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. The season will run from May 23, 2023, to August 22, 2023.